Shadows of Morning
by Shawen A. Greer
Summary: Scully's further reflection of her life after the episode All Things **SPOILER WARNING**


Title: Shadows of Morning  
By: Shawen A. Greer  
Rating: MSR, G  
Disclaimer: As everyone already knows, these characters  
don't belong to me but to Chris Carter, Fox Broadcasting  
and  
1013 Productions. They are borrowed without permission,  
but without intent of infringement.  
SUMMARY: Scully's further reflection of her life.  
SPOILERS: All Things  
FEEDBACK: Of course, I would love it! Please, please,  
please! shawen@altavista.com  
Visit my site The Hall of 'X' for the rest of my stories   
and some others by wonderfully talented authors.  
www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/8840  
********************8  
  
  
The whine of a distant siren pulled me from the images and  
voices of my past that echoed in my head, and it took my  
eyes a few blinks and my mind a few moments to realize  
where I was. The low, methodic hum of his fish tank and  
the soft blue glow that it cast on the room was peacefully  
familiar, and it occurred to me that my last memory was of  
him sitting beside me. He listened to me so intently and  
even held my hand in silence, patiently waiting through the  
parts that were difficult for me to say. He understands me  
so well that it scares me I think sometimes, and it is no  
secret to him that it is difficult for me to let down the  
constant guard that I have so strongly established, and  
reveal any hidden aspect of myself to anyone.  
  
I have learned so much about myself in my journey with  
Fox Mulder, but it pales in comparison to the knowledge I  
have gained in a short journey of my own without him. For  
though we believe that life is a series of questions and  
decisions, ultimately fate intervenes and leads us to the  
path that we are destined to follow. And so in the shadows  
of morning I see that my life has come full circle and I am  
where I am supposed to be, both literally and figuratively  
alike.  
  
My eyes are blurry and my limbs are heavy as I try to force  
myself fully awake after the most peaceful few hours of  
sleep I have had in the last couple of days. A blanket  
surrounds my body, soft and comforting, and I close my  
eyes to take in the smell of him that still lingers around it,  
drinking it in as if I could fill myself with his very essence.   
  
I strain my eyes to make out the time in the small digital  
display across the room, thankful that though it is early, I  
still have more than enough time to allow much needed  
sleep to encompass me once again. And though I am warm  
and comfortable, I cannot resist the urge to look for him,  
my personal solace before returning to sleep.  
  
Tossing the blanket off to the side I begin the slow and  
painful process of standing, my legs having been crossed at  
the ankles for hours now on Mulder's coffee table. I  
grimace slightly at the prickly burn that grows in my feet as  
they touch the floor and wait a few uncomfortable seconds  
until I stand, hoping that the weight and the movement will  
cause it to subside.  
  
The hallway is dark, but I know that it is only a few yards  
to his room, and my stocking feet are so silent as I  
approach his slightly open door that I am not even sure that  
I am not still dreaming. I pause at the threshold telling  
myself that I shouldn't go in, but there is something  
magical about the thought of him asleep, and I carefully  
peek inside.  
  
I can hear him breathing before I can see him; long, deep  
breathing of sleep. I tiptoe in slightly, stopping quickly at  
the soft creak of the door as I push it open, but it doesn't  
wake him. Afraid to move it any further, I slip through the  
space I have created and stand just inside, afraid to go in  
any further and even more afraid to return to the loneliness  
of the sofa.  
  
As I near his bedside, I can begin to make out his features  
in the faint light that drifts in from the window and I am  
overcome of the rush of emotion that causes in me. He is  
the most beautiful sight at rest, an equal mix of man and  
boy and I resist the need to kiss his sleeping cheek.  
  
Instead, out of necessity, I follow the edge of the mattress  
to the other side and lower my weight carefully as not to  
disturb him. I slip effortlessly under the sheet and smile as  
the sight of his bare back and his boxers, infinitely sexy in  
its simplicity, greets me. The heat from his body creates a  
pocket of warmth that surrounds both of our bodies, an  
invisible separation of barely an inch between us.   
  
I'm not sure just how long I lay there in the semi-conscious  
state somewhere between awake and asleep, so close that I  
could feel the hint of his skin against me with each  
deepened breath that he took, and surrounded again by the  
scent of him as it filled the air around me. It seemed like it  
was only minutes, though I know it was longer than that,  
before the faint light of dawn invaded the solitude of the  
moment.  
  
And so was the beginning of a new day, and as much as I  
hated to leave the nest I had settled into, there was work to  
be done and a need to remove myself from his bed before  
he became aware of my presence. So, after a kiss that was  
barely a kiss on his bare shoulder, I left the warmth and  
solace as carefully and as quietly as I had entered it.  
  
Gathering up my jacket and the rest of my things, I folded  
the offered blanket and placed it neatly on the sofa and left  
in the early morning hours, stopping to breath only after I  
have closed his door behind me.   
  
*******************  
  
The alarm clock rang out at its regular 6:30 hour, and  
Mulder moaned his unhappiness as he reached over to turn  
it off and rolled over to his other side unwilling to get up  
yet. He pulled the other pillow in his arms, realizing that  
he had slept better last night than he had in months. Then a  
smile formed on this still sleepy face as the familiar smell  
of her filled the air from the pillow in his arms and he was  
suddenly torn between the desire to hurry to the office and  
stay here with the essence of her. With lightning speed and  
hope in his heart, he opted for the real thing that waited for  
him at work.  
  
Fin  



End file.
